


The Dawnbreaker - Guilt

by Nathaniel_Quietly



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Green Lantern (Comics), Green Lantern Corps (Comics)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 09:26:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16302545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nathaniel_Quietly/pseuds/Nathaniel_Quietly
Summary: So for those who havent heard, October is here and we at DC Animated Adventures are teaming up with Nazario Designs to giveaway the complete Batman: The Animated Series on DVD! Chris will draw a villain a day and you just write a short 400-500 word story about that character and you're entered! That simple!Lance and I decided that we wanted to play along as well, even though we're not qualified to win (as we are putting on the contest). Here's my entry for today, the fourth of The Dark Knights: The Dawnbreaker. I tried something a little different with this one - I went super formalistic, mapping out the Kubler-Ross 5 Stages of Grief over 99 word paragraphs. Plus the numerical tags, its a precisely 500 word flash fiction piece. I hope it works! (Check outThe DCAA Facebookfor more information.)





	The Dawnbreaker - Guilt

One

He was fine. 

He’d taken his vengeance on the back alley thug that murdered his parents. He’d purged those demons, and breathed deep with the relief of their exorcism. Now, he was prepared to bring justice to his sector of the galaxy. Now he was ready to be a member of the Green Lantern Corps. 

They would, he knew, forgive him his lone trespass, his singular corruption of their ring. If anything, the Corp’s leaders would respect his willpower. Maybe even envy it. He was putting the past behind him. His brightest days were ahead. 

He was fine. Really.

 

Two

The punk’s face splintered under the pummelling blow of an emerald fist. The construct was hardened and weighted by the bottomless reservoir of pained will at his heart. “You’re just another savage,” he growled. His voice was broken glass. “Another animal. Whose parents have you murdered, beast?”

“I'm sorry, man,” the thing murmured through split lips, broken teeth. “I didn’t kill nobody, I was just tryin’ to get some money for food.”

The fist crashed down again, and through his connection to the ring, he felt the skull split and crumple like a vase.

No matter. This was justice.

 

Three

He would give it back. If the Guardians would just do what he couldn’t, if they'd just let him have his parents again, he’d give the ring back.

They could fix what he’d broken! All his ring could do, and his was only a fraction of a fraction of their batteries’ power. They could just, just snapped their fingers and Mom and Dad would still be alive, and they could, maybe, hang out in the theater lobby for a few minutes. Let some other boy’s parents die. 

And they could have the ring back, and everyone would be happy.

 

Four 

I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.

The boy bit down on his lip, trying to keep the tears back, but they seeped out anyway. 

I know...I know I made a mistake. I can’t believe...I can’t believe this is me, even now, even after everything I’ve done. After everything that’s come out of this, I can’t believe it was me. I cant...Im so, so sorry, Mom. Dad. You didn’t deserve this legacy, you didn’t deserve...this is all my fault. I'm so sorry I tried to lay this at your feet. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

 

Five

He took a deep breath, inhaling the charred, smoking ashes that had once been the police commissioner of this fetid, godforsaken city. He rolled his shoulders, planted his feet on the decrepit roof beneath him, and looked at the stars. They shown dim and insignificant against the polluted night’s sky.

They were coming. He could feel it. 

And that was okay. He was fine. He’d learned to accept who he was, what he had accomplished. He could teach the rest of the Corps. He could teach their brittle, backwards Masters.

The Ring was his, now. He could take them.


End file.
